Peter Dutton is the Member for Dickson and Minister for Defence.
Minister Dutton was sworn in as the Minister for Defence on 30 March 2021.
Peter has been a member of the National Security Committee of Cabinet for 6 years. He is also a member of the Expenditure Review Committee and the Prime Minister’s leadership team.
Previously, he served as the inaugural Home Affairs Minister in its modern form from December 2017, with responsibility for the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.
Peter has also previously served as the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection from December 2014 until August 2018 overseeing Operation Sovereign Borders – stopping the boats, getting every child out of detention, closing the Manus Regional Processing Centre and overseeing the special intake of 12,000 refugees from the Syria and Iraq conflicts.
Prior to that appointment, Peter was Minister for Health and Minister for Sport from September 2013 establishing the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.
Peter is married to Kirilly and is the proud father of Rebecca, Harry and Tom and lives in Dayboro in the Dickson electorate.
First elected to the Australian Parliament as the Member for Dickson in November 2001 at age 30, Peter became one of the youngest Ministers since Federation when appointed to the Ministry by Prime Minister John Howard in 2004.
In January 2006, he was promoted to Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer.
Minister Price was sworn in as the Minister for Defence Industry on 29 May 2019. The Minister and portfolio were elevated to Cabinet on 30 March 2021. First elected to the Australian Parliament in 2013 as the Member for Durack – the largest electorate in Australia. Minister Price has previously served in the Environment portfolio and has held a number of Parliamentary Committee roles including the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. A lawyer by profession, Minister Price brings over 20 years of experience in the private sector from a variety of commercial and legal roles. She has also supported the community through working with the not-for-profit sector.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
Minister for Defence Personnel
Minister Chester was sworn in for a second term as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel on 29 May 2019, with the portfolio being elevated to Cabinet on 6 February 2020. In his previous term, Minister Chester also served as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac. In February 2016, Minister Chester was appointed to Cabinet as the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. He served for three months on the backbench from December 2017 to February 2018. Minister Chester is the member for Gippsland, Victoria, and was first elected to Federal Parliament on June 26, 2008.
Assistant Minister Hastie was sworn in as the Assistant Minister for Defence on 22 December 2020. Assistant Minister Hastie was elected to represent the electorate of Canning in the House of Representatives in 2015 and again in 2016 and 2019. Assistant Minister Hastie served in the Australian Defence Force from 2003 to 2015, deploying to various theatres in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific. Assistant Minister Hastie served as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security from January 2017 to December 2020. His work in this capacity focused on national security, including counter-terrorism, espionage and foreign interference.
16 March 2021
**Proofed against delivery**
Thank you very much Juanita and good morning to you all.
31 March 2021
I’m very proud to be joining in the celebration of the Royal Australian Air Force.
